Not Falling Apart
by dashingdiva
Summary: When stuck between her best friend and boyfriend, Eve Torres is left with a choice that will change everything.


**Not Falling Apart**

Evan Bourne/Eve Torres/Jack Swagger

It all started with a knock.

Eve Torres pursed her lips as she stood outside of the locker room, dealing with the knots in her stomach as she waited to receive entry.

Maybe he wasn't there.

Maybe she was just a few moments too late.

Maybe he had left ages ago.

…Maybe someone had already told him.

She gave a soft shake of her brunette mane to try and release the nerves, but it didn't work out as planned. The door opened to reveal a weakened, yet still smiling Evan Bourne. It was one of her favorite features.

He looked comfortable with a towel placed gently on his shoulders, ring gear still on. Evan always seemed to be able to hide whatever pain he was feeling when it came to her visits. "Eve Torres, right this way," he greeted, pushing the door back to let his friend in.

They each took a seat on a steel chair and turned to each other, but Evan couldn't help but notice how tightly Eve's arms were crossed. Was something wrong?

No, it was probably just cold. The AC in the arenas was known to vary around different portions of the building.

Unless… _nah_.

"You did great out there tonight." Eve said, feeling a soft smile cross her mouth.

Evan gently nodded his head with a chuckle. "Could've gone better, but hey, as long as I have your approval."

"Pssh, you'll always have my approval." She replied. "So, what's the diagnosis?"

"Nothing too major. Just a little bruised. Trust me, I've had worse. What about you?" He gave a pause. "And, how'd everything go?"

She winced. "I'm alright," the Diva admitted, trying to keep up her comfortable act.

Evan arched an eyebrow. "What happened?"

His stare fueled her worry with each passing moment. She used her thumb to fiddle with the flashy accessory on her ring finger. As if the guilt she already felt wasn't enough, the concerned look in her eyes made her feel like the scum of the earth. Here he was, her best friend, sitting before her expecting a distinct answer she couldn't give. It tore Eve up inside, and she had been dreading it ever since the swerve in the situation came about. All she wanted now was his advice, but she knew she wasn't going to get it. She felt it would be wrong to even ask.

Eve finally relented, covertly holding her breath as she uncrossed her arms and made a notion to her left hand.

She was engaged, she should be happy.

But his reaction would make it impossible.

Evan's face fell as he took in what had happened. After finally convincing her just how much better she deserved, she went off and got engaged to him. Not just any man, either – one Evan had detested for ages. Eve Torres had agreed to become Mrs. Jack Swagger.

The thought made him ill.

He was nearly gawking at the engagement ring, not because of it's appearance, but what it meant for him. Evan was speechless. How could things have gone so horribly awry?

"What the hell…?"

The look on his face made her regret her decision now more than ever.

"Is this what I think it is?"

The crestfallen look on her face confirmed everything.

"What happened to everything we talked about?"

She re-crossed her arms and sat up straight. "I-I don't know…"

He arched his eyebrows. "Are you really going to go through with this?"

The Diva exhaled. "I don't know." She repeated. "I don't know what to do, Evan…"

Silence filled the room, slowly eating away at both of them. Evan's eyes were tightly shut, trying his best to keep his composure as he let the situation sink in.

"Eve, I just… I can't believe you agreed to marry this guy. Out of _all_ the people in the world you could spend the rest of your life with, why would you choose Jack?"

He stared at her, almost trying to find the answer himself in her gaze. But the truth was that she didn't have one. For once, Eve Marie Torres didn't know what to do.

"I was put on the spot, Evan." She distinctly replied. "What was I going to say? 'Uh, give me 20 minutes to think about it'?"

"So what, are you going to really go through with getting hitched to some guy you were going to break up with before he proposed? Do you really think an engagement is going to save the relationship?"

"Evan, you _know_ that's not what this is about."

"On the contrary, that's exactly what it's about." Evan remarked. "He was oh so nice enough to ask you to be his wife, which obviously means that you two are meant to be. Your notion that the relationship wouldn't last was _completely _wrong."

The brunette gave a sharp roll of her eyes. Her instinct was right, no matter how badly it hurt. Why couldn't he be happy for her?

"I'm not going to sit here and listen to you mock me, Evan." She shot back. Eve took a deep breath and stood up, her head held high as she turned to look back at him. She had seen him aggravated numerous times before, but knowing it was directed at her hurt more than she could have possibly imagined. "You know what? It may not be what you wanted to hear, but it's happening, whether I have your support or not."

"Oh, so it's happening now?" Evan retorted. "Well, good for you, because you definitely don't have it."

"You act like I need it."

The Diva turned on her heel and made a beeline for the door, only stopping when she reached for the knob. She paused, her hand gripping handle before uttering the one thing on her mind.

"You know what, Evan?"

His ears perked, arching an eyebrow as he looked up to see Eve still standing by the door.

"If you had gotten to me before Jack, maybe, just maybe things would've been different."

Evan watched as Eve opened the door, revealing the lighting of the hallway as she walked off, leaving him to sit in his own angry, confused thoughts.

* * *

><p>After getting the final cue to leave, Evan got his bags together and exited the locker room. His mind was still running wild – how could Eve have been so convinced to leave Jack only to take the next step in their relationship? The fact that he couldn't get it out of his head only annoyed him further. Eve had obviously made her choice, and that wasn't going to change, no matter how against it he was.<p>

He was definitely against it.

But he wasn't going to let that affect how he carried himself. It seemed as though the last thing he could control in this situation was his way of making people believe that he was happy, and he wasn't going to let that slip away.

He stuffed his hands in the pocket of his jacket as he made his way down the hallway, nodding his head at the few people still remaining behind the scenes. He used his iPod as a shield to keep from being forced into conversation. Evan was lost in his thoughts, having no motivation to put up with anyone else's problems but his own. It was the least he could do for himself – the situation proved one of the few things Jack Swagger was right about. Unfortunately for Evan, nice guys finished last.

He continued on with his reclusion from reality as he ventured on, only snapping out of his thoughts when he turned the corner and bumped into someone. The raven-haired woman standing before him was instantly recognizable, although her puffy eyes were a new feature.

"Sorry, Gail," Evan muttered.

Gail shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she responded, her voice equally as soft.

She passed by Evan without giving him a second glance, but he couldn't let her carry on when she was so visibly shaken. Despite his better judgment, the Superstar turned around and started after her.

"Gail, hold up –"

"Evan, I'm fine." She said calmly as she carried on.

"I'm not an idiot." He replied. Evan finally made a grab for her wrist and whipped her around, noticing her tears right off the bat. "Gail… tell me what's wrong."

"I'm _fine_," Gail repeated. She dabbed at her eyes with her free hand.

Evan's look made it clear that he wasn't in the mood to mess around – he wanted answers, and he wouldn't put forth much more effort before he gave up completely.

"You'd hate me if I told you."

"Don't assume. Just talk."

Gail sighed. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell _anyone_."

"Tell me."

She eyed him wearily before finally obeying his demands. "Fine…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> I had to post this a couple of different times to get the link to work, so I'm sorry to those who got numerous emails about this story!

This one goes out to Em. We decided that there was a lack of stories involving a certain ship, so I'm going to try my hand at changing that. :)


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